Road to Paradise
by Sora532
Summary: Sent to save the pokémon world, a human turned Axew finds himself on a team with an adventurous Pikachu who wants to create a Pokémon paradise but evil and new feelings emerge along the way. Will the world meet salvation or oblivion?
1. Awakening

**We all knew that I was bound to do this. That's right. Seeing as I've written my own versions of how the first two sets of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games should have gone (although with poor syntax, plot, and character development), it's only natural that I write one featuring Gates to Infinity. It's time to show how my skills have (in my totally unbiased opinion) improved. Anyway, enough of my useless rambling! Let's get started.**

**You guys know that I don't own Pokémon right? If I did, Ash would have actually won a league by now…**

**Chapter 1: Dreams**

Light was everywhere in every color across the spectrum. It was so bright here that it was impossible to tell if there was anyone truly there or if the voices that resonated here were merely figments of one's imagination.

"Wh-where…am I?" That pretty much rules out the figments of one's imagination option. Clearly someone was here but who in their right mind would want to be in a place where they couldn't see anything? Then again, maybe whoever this was _wasn't _in their right mind...

"Is…Is this…a dream? Am I…dreaming?" Who knows? Probably shouldn't rule it out since the blinding light doesn't mess up vision like it should.

"…Oh! What was that?" Whoever this person was has probably gone crazy; no other voices have made their presence known…yet. "I could have sworn…I'm sure of it…That was definitely a voice!" Yup, whoever this was has gone off the deep end for sure. There was no way that another voice could be talking to him if they all just resonate in this blindingly bright…where even is here anyway?

"Someone…is calling out to me!" Talk about conceited. How can a disembodied voice actually speak to another disembodied voice and how do disembodied voices even exist? Those sound like something out of a cliché horror or adventure movie…who cares. But it was becoming clear that this voice held a masculine tone to it not only enough to be considered a real man but deeper than someone in childhood.

"You…you who can hear my voice…might you be…a human?" another disembodied voice inquired. Well that definitively proves that disembodied voices don't resonate in this woebegone realm. It must be actual beings communicating with this realm as a medium. Wait a second, how does this voice even know that it's talking to a human anyway? Has it been stalking this supposed human? That's just creepy sir…or is it ma'am. Who cares…

"If you are then please…listen to my plea," Sounds desperate. Wonder what plea this supposedly disembodied voice could make…

"Please…I need you to save the Pokémon world!" Well whoever this is, they certainly don't beat around the bush. A trait to be appreciated for sure and full points for getting to the point without mindless plot to get things going. That's one way to shake things up for sure.

"We need you're—…" suddenly the blindingly bright light dissipated just a little and an air of seemingly malevolent aura permeated through the dreamscape as the human flinched in shock. What in the world was going on here?

The human was shown a scene of a small pink blob being chased by what looked like a three headed dragon? Reminded him vaguely of a hydra…only difference here is that this one could fly and only had three heads instead of six. Watching the rest of the sequence revealed the dragon to have six thin, black wings on its back each of which ends in two points. On its neck was a fuchsia-colored collar which surrounded its head. The main head was dark blue and its eyes are black with fuchsia pupils. Its hands were also black and harbor a head in each one; these heads were similarly blue with black eyes. There were small collars on the inside of its hands. On its abdomen were two overall-like fuchsia stripes. Its feet appeared atrophied, having no claws or defined soles and two or three small toes. Its tail also sported a fuchsia stripe with a black tuft on the end.

The human was understandable shaken by the end which left the important question of what to do now as he mulled over the details of what had occurred whilst the light grew brighter again and the human found its way back to the realm of light where there was a major change.

"There's a reflection here," the human noted, staring at it. "That's funny because it looks an awful lot like me…"

The human raised an arm and so did the silhouetted reflection. The human slapped his silky smooth face and the silhouette followed suit. The human kept this up until it was absolutely clear that this reflection was that of the human which raised the interesting question of whether this human was some kind of masochist.

"Should have known," the human muttered, shaking his head. "I don't see anyone else here." Admittedly that wasn't saying very much as there was too much light for anyone to make out much of anything at all.

The human blinked in surprise when the reflection began wavering and shifting into an indiscernible figure. "What is this thing?" the human wondered, squinting at the new figure once the shift had finished. It looked pretty vague to him as it was still a silhouette but thought little of it just then.

The human shrugged and decided that it was not worth stressing about as instinct dictated that the he start walking and with that approached the door of light.

From there found the human standing on top of a small…what was the human supposed to call it? A looking glass? That'd do for now.

Only one problem.

The human wasn't a human.

That's right! The human had since turned into a pokémon! What pokémon was he'd become was alien to him but decided that it probably wasn't worth being too worried. After all there were more important things that needed to be done. Like saving the world for instance despite having no idea how to even begin going about such an endeavor but decided to push that thought away for now.

"I don't know why," the male pokémon muttered. "But I can feel that voice begging for help. I feel like it came from here," he glanced at the small sphere of light right in front of him. He blinked as he remembered part of the conversation from that voice from before.

"Didn't the voice say that I needed to save the pokémon world? I'm pretty sure that sounds right…" he muttered as he moved closer to the light sphere to get a better look. It was vaguely disturbing that the human turned pokémon was somehow taking this all into stride which raises the question of what his life was like before he became a pokémon.

Suddenly, a ring appeared around him and began to glow brightly. He couldn't suppress a yelp of surprise purely out of reflex and fear for what was about to happen.

And for good reason too when he found himself falling much like a skydiver would. The human turned pokémon wondered vaguely in between panicked mantras of 'I'm gonna die' how he'd ended up in free fall in the first place. Although acknowledging that it was somewhat lazy, he decided that he needed to make sure this landing would not get him killed. He grimaced at the irony. Sent to the pokémon world only to be killed before he could even do anything…what an ironic and sad way to go.

Increasing his surface area as to decrease terminal velocity was the first order of business. If he could slow to a gentle landing then he would take it. Second was finding a spot where he could land without breaking a body part. He then acknowledged that a broken limb was probably inevitable and so was coming in for a gentle landing. He was in free fall after all, not gliding. Oh how he wished he could fly.

Regardless, he spotted large easily noticeable bush that might make the landing slightly less painful. He could only hope that the bush had no thorns. He was already falling at what he assumed to be terminal velocity and had no desire to make his entrance any more terrifying with a rough landing.

The human-turned pokémon made sure his body was in position and heaved a deep breath hoping it would work.

He'd never know for sure if his plan succeeded or not because he had blacked out before making his landing despite having fought against it for almost a minute...

* * *

"Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" He groaned. Who could possibly be bothering him now? Couldn't whoever was bothering him tell that he just wanted to rest? He did just have a rougher than expected landing…Then again, that might not be the most obvious conclusion one could draw from the encounter…

"Come on! Wake up!" Now that he was paying more attention, he could make out the feminine traces behind the voice and felt the dark fog clouding his vision to dissipate and he was able to make out some more clear features. It was obvious that whoever was trying to wake him looked like a mouse.

A large mouse.

A large mouse that looked to have yellow fur, bright amber eyes, what looked to be red circles on her cheeks, and what had to be the coolest was the lightning bolt shaped tail that curved into a heart. She had long pointed ears with black tips along with small forearms with five fingers per paw and small feet with three toes per foot.

He winced as he slowly got up into a sitting position and looked around. He looked to be in a forest. Looking around some more found a large bush where he assumed to have landed. He nodded to himself; that had been the plan and his intact health showed that it had worked. He was amazed that he had survived yet alone landing relatively unscathed. Ah, one of the perks of being a pokémon...

Turning back to the electric rodent, the human turned pokémon wanted to ask what she was but decided that sounded too rude and instead asked, "Who are you?

"I'm Pikachu," she smiled at him and he couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked when she smiled. Man he felt like a creeper thinking such cliché thoughts; surely he could be more creative than that! "And you're an Axew right?"

He blinked and looked down at the grayish-green scales on his body. Feeling his face told him that he had two flat tusks on the sides of his mouth and feeling the top of his head told him that he now had a horn! Was that what Pokémon he had become? He'd take her word for it seeing as he had no clue. He then wondered how they were able to communicate so easily before remembering that he was a pokémon as well…

Lovely.

Then again, he had a horn and tusks! How cool was that!

"I think I am," he murmured before coming to a realization. He wanted to be something more meaningful than just Axew although having an 'x' in his name was a nice perk. "But please…call me Auron."

Pikachu blinked before testing the foreign name on her tongue. She believed it to have a nice ring to it and immediately took it in stride.

"So you're not hurt right? You fell right out of the sky," Pikachu asked worriedly, scrutinizing him for any injuries that he may have been inadvertently hiding from her.

"I'm not sure how that happened but I think I'm okay," Auron lied. Somehow he was skeptical that Pikachu would believe that he was actually a human sent to save the Pokémon world. Nonetheless he was touched by her concern.

Pikachu scrutinized him for a few more seconds, searching for any injuries before nodding to herself.

"So Auron, where are you from? I've never seen you around here before," Pikachu commented idly while Auron stiffened, mentally cursing himself for overlooking such a simple question. How could he explain to Pikachu that he was a human? There's no way she or anyone else would believe him. He'd certainly never believe if someone told him such a thing…at least not without some proof and he thought himself to be a relatively open minded individual. On the other hand, Auron already felt that he'd developed a friend in Pikachu despite having only known her for about five minutes. He sighed when he realized that he didn't want to lie to her and had little choice other than to tell the truth.

"WHAAT!" Pikachu gasped when Auron confessed. "Y-You're actually a human! And you got turned into a Pokemon because some voice was crying out for help?! So you basically fell out of the human world into this one!"

Auron sighed. He knew it would be too big of a stretch to hope that anyone would believe his story so he was only vaguely confused when Pikachu turned away from him and seemed to be having a conversation with herself before nodding resolutely and turning back to him.

"Okay," she stated. "I got it." Auron blinked at the growing smile or her face which he couldn't help but feel reassured. "I believe you Auron! I believe your story!"

Auron felt his jaw drop at Pikachu's declaration. She believed him without any proof or any way to back up what he'd said! What an incredible stroke of luck! Nonetheless, he did find comfort in someone believing him despite the impossibility of the declaration.

"I know you must be surprised," Pikachu smiled bashfully. At Auron's vigorous nod she continued, "It is a pretty incredible story to believe. After all, humans only existed in fairy tales or so I believed and it seemed totally impossible that a human could just turn into a pokémon and fall out of the sky one day." Auron nodded. He assumed that this wasn't a common occurrence.

She stared up at the sky while Auron watched on curiously. "You know what I think?" she asked her Axew friend. At his shrug, she continued her little monologue.

"I think that there are so many mysteries in the universe but maybe…those things aren't so mysterious after all…maybe there are just things that I don't know about yet and that's why I believe it's mysterious," Pikachu admitted while Auron watched on, clearly impressed with Pikachu's open mindedness.

"That's why I want to learn and see as much about the world as possible!" Pikachu declared, passion laced every syllable that just made Auron want to join her quest.

"I want to meet mythical Pokémon that are the stuff of legends! I want to explore the deepest caverns and ancient ruins!" Pikachu exclaimed.

'_With the way Pikachu talks, it makes me want to join her in this pursuit. It sounds so exciting!' _Auron thought eagerly as he listened intently as Pikachu admitted that she wanted to be an adventurer.

"That's why I traveled all the way here to—," Pikachu's eyes widened in horror as she remembered the reason she was out in the forest in the first place.

"Augh! I forgot! The most important meeting of my life!" Pikachu moved passed before clamping her eyes shut. "I've got to get there ASAP but the path ahead looks really tough. It'll be hard to make it through on my own…"

Pikachu felt her eyes prick with tears as she realized the sheer magnitude of her plight. She had gotten lucky, having been able to avoid most of the battles on her trail thus far but she doubted her luck would hold out for much longer. "What am I supposed to do?" Her eyes brightened suddenly as she realized that she didn't have to travel all by herself.

"Auron! Please!" Pikachu began, sounding more than a little desperate. "Will you please come with me on the path ahead?"

Auron watched as her expression turned downcast as she continued. "My journey is so close to being over and everything I want is so close but if I don't hurry, I won't make it in time. I'm really not sure if I will be able to fight and get through the path by myself."

Auron blinked at her desperation as she declared that there was no time to explain and that she needed him to come with her. She had even gone so far as to push him from behind to get Auron to lead down the path.

Auron blinked at Pikachu's surge of boldness as she pushed him out of the forest and toward the ragged mountain.

* * *

"This place is…amazing," Auron breathed as he took in the rocky expanse around him. He felt right at home here in nature's embrace. He would have taken more time to admire nature's beauty had Pikachu not called him over and insisted that they needed to move posthaste.

"Hey Pikachu," said Auron abruptly as the pair kept moving. "Do you have a name aside Pikachu that you'd rather be called?"

The electric type blinked before she reflected on Auron's question. It had never occurred to her to make a new name for herself although given what she wanted to do, it did seem fitting to give herself a new name for this quest of hers...theirs...

She stared around, looking for inspiration. Her eyes landed on her tail and she stared at and felt sparks fall from her cheeks as it came to mind.

"Light," she decided. "Call me Light."

Auron nodded, shooting Light a toothy grin before noting that the bridge collapsed, causing Light to go into a panic. How was she going to get to her meeting in time if the bridge collapsed?

"Light," said Auron firmly, "You need to relax. If you keep this up, you'll be too tired to even participate in the meeting."

Light nodded after taking a deep breath and immediately followed Auron's lead as the intrepid duo began scaling the rocky maze and crossed through the rockface.

It was immediately clear why Light had asked Auron to come along. As soon as they had stepped into the cave labyrinth, they were immediately attacked by an unusually aggressive Gothita who had used pound on Auron.

The small dragon type scowled before realizing that he had no idea how to fight back.

Light seemed to have come to that realization too as she gave an abridged version of how battle as a pokemon.

Auron wasn't sure what that meant but trusted Light's advice as he lunged in and scratched at the Gothita that had attacked him with Light backing him up with a thundershock. Auron stared at his partner's ability to produce electricity while wishing he could do something similar.

He seemed to get some version of his wish when the duo found themselves surrounded by at least five pokemon. While they weren't a threat by themselves, as a group, the battle would be much tougher especially since it was two inexperienced battlers against five aggressive pokemon. The odds were not in their favor as they sent Light flying. Auron snarled as he scratched away but blinked when his small hands were enveloped in dark energy knocked away two of their enemies. The rest fled when they saw the kind of power Auron harnessed.

Auron disregarded his foes' abrupt exit as he found Light padding her way back to his side.

"Auron, you were incredible out there!" Light gushed as she explained that he had learned how to use Assurance. Light described it as a dark type attack that did more damage if you were already injured when you used it. Auron grinned. Clearly fate wanted to make his job at least a little bit easier; something that he was intensely grateful.

Thankfully, after the ambush no other pokemon had tried to surprise the weary duo as they finally spotted the exit and made a mad dash toward it. Only to find themselves up on the summit.

"Now how are we going to get across," Light mumbled, crossing her arms as she began to think. Auron glanced around and spotted a tree and the other side of the ledge nearby. He had contemplated simply jumping across ultimately decided against it. He'd already been in free fall once today and had no desire to repeat the feat. But the tree gave him an idea.

Angling his head to the side, Auron gave the tree his best headbutt and grimaced when it didn't fall over like he'd hoped. He was hoping that his horn would be able to cut through the tree but to no avail; he'd then tried with his tusks but had gotten similar results.

Light blinked when she saw Auron trying to knock the tree down and together their combined headbutt managed to knock the tree down and create a makeshift bridge. Auron had volunteered to go first and encouraged Light when she crossed, reminding her to not look down but immediately regretted it when she froze.

He shook his head as he moved to Light's side and led her through the bridge path before hopping off on the other side.

"We made it!" Auron grinned after traveling down the other side of the rockface. Being a pokemon felt awesome! It gave him a more acute sense of appreciating nature at any rate.

"We need to hurry!" Light stated frantically as she pushed Auron toward the dirt path. "Come on!" she shouted as she continued nudging him down the path while Auron wondered where Light was taking him so badly that she needed to push him.

He'd find out in due time...

**How was that? I'm sorry I haven't posted any stories in long time. I want to blame reality for hindering me in this regard and that is partially true but there's also a lack of inspiration and just laziness that made me not write anything sooner. I sincerely apologize but if you like this story then you'll be happy to know that I have every intention of getting an update to you all at least once a week. If this changes, I'll let you all know right away via my profile page so definitely check there regularly for progress reports and as always: thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. New Developments

**Disclaimer: My ownership to Pokémon is like using metronome and getting sketch.**

Previously:

_"We made it!" Auron grinned after traveling down the other side of the rock face. Being a pokémon felt awesome! It gave him a more acute sense of appreciating nature at any rate._

_"We need to hurry!" Light stated frantically as she pushed Auron toward the dirt path. "Come on!" she shouted as she continued nudging him down the path while Auron wondered where Light was taking him so badly that she needed to push him._

_He'd find out in due time..._

* * *

**Chapter 2: New Developments**

Auron blinked when Light had finally stopped pushing him and his big red eyes drifted over what he believed to be some sort of crossroads with three other paths for them to choose; one in front and one on either side. He'd also noticed the small water fountain off to the side.

"Ha…" Light panted, "We did it! I'm finally here! I made it!" Auron couldn't bring himself to point out that he'd played a big part in Light's being where they were in the first place.

Even more so when she smiled an almost blindingly bright smile, her face beaming in delight as she thanked him profusely for helping her get through the mountain path.

"I really owe you one now Auron," Light smiled. "There was no way I could have gotten here without you." At least Light knew that getting here wasn't just her own doing although it had been her goal to reach this place originally.

That raised an interesting question.

Where exactly _were _they?

Auron made to ask Light that question but before he could utter a word, she explained that her letter stated that she needed to take the right-side path and immediately took off. Auron, for his part, had nothing better to do so he followed Light, still curious about what she was doing. She had yet to fully fill him in on why she was in the forest when she found him. Auron hadn't thought much of it at the time but now that the prospect of crossing the mountain trail was behind him, his mind buzzed with many possibilities.

Auron was snapped out of his musings when he noticed the electric type slow to a stop and quickly followed her lead. Glancing around revealed what looked to be a desert expanse. It was barren and desolate. Auron could spend all day describing how bleak this place but settled on calling it a depressing wasteland but he was smart enough to not say that out loud. He didn't want to hurt Light's feelings after all.

"Th-thank goodness you're still here," said Light as she caught her breath after heaving a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here."

Auron regarded the strange pokémon curiously. It looked like a broad, light blue bipedal amphibian. Its entire body was a light blue and had little neck to show for where his head ended and torso began. From what Auron could tell, he had a big mouth but small beady black eyes. A wavy, purple stripe runs down its back. Along the spine is a dark blue fin and at the ends of the sluggish arms and legs three fingers, and the feet had three toes. Auron suspected that the skin was slimy or slippery.

"Hmm…I'm Quagsire…hmm?" said the blue Pokémon. "I'm the one who, hmm, manages the land around here," he explained. Auron surmised as much as regarded the quirky pokémon with interest, wondering vaguely why he 'hmmed' so frequently.

He turned to face Light, "Is it you then? You're, mmm, Pikachu?"

"Yup. That's me," Light nodded. She decided against pointing out that she went by 'Light' now because she feared it might hurt her chances.

"Mm-hmm! I thought so! Thanks for coming so far!" Quagsire grinned. A sight that made Auron a little uneasy. Not because it was suspicious but it just looked really strange. "It seemed that waiting here was, hmm, worth it after all. I've just been standing here by myself, hmm, but it was so boring that I was, mmm, thinking of heading home soon."

He grinned broadly at her while Auron watched on curiously as he continued, "But now that you're here…" he trailed off as looked at the depressing expanse of what looked to be a desert with several small mountains, rare patches of grass, and a tree ahead.

"Are you really sure about this?" Quagsire asked, wanting to make sure that Light knew what she was getting into. "It's really, mmm, desolate. And there's nothing here…And worst of all, hmm, the Mystery Dungeons are really taking over in this area, hmm? You really can't count on anything going as expected in this place."

"I know," Light nodded. "That's exactly what I'm hoping for, actually," she admitted. She opened the small back that Auron hadn't noticed she was wearing before now and pulled out a medium sized pouch. "I brought the poké with me."

Facing Light once more, "Hmm. You're sure won't regret this?" he asked one last time for clarification. At Light's nod he said, "Well then here you go. Your, hmm, deed."

Auron watched on in surprise as the two traded and stared as Light held the deed and now held ownership of the land.

"This land belongs to you now," Quagsire stated. "You're welcome to do whatever you like with it." And with that, Quagsire took his leave while Auron stared after him.

Immediately after he was out of earshot, Light beamed and did a small victory dance. "From this day forth, this gonna be my Paradise!" Auron stared at her. He wasn't sure how this desert expanse could constitute a paradise. Unless Light was a fan of sun and sand…it was just like a beach but without any water which was a pity because it was kind of crucial to their survival.

Light quickly took notice of Auron's bewildered expression and promptly apologized "for getting so worked up by myself," as she so succinctly put it and then began explaining.

"Remember how I told you how I wanted to learn and see all kinds of things? To be an adventurer?" Light inquired.

Auron nodded. Her speech had, in his opinion, been truly inspirational. He had wanted to ask if he could join her quest but had forgotten about it when they had to rush to get to this place which raised the question of where were they?

"This right here is the starting point for making all of that come true!" Auron stared. He could see how she might make that connection given the how many mystery dungeons were here if what Quagsire said was true."

"My dream…" Light continued, "Is to make a paradise for us all! A Pokémon Paradise!"

"…A Pokémon Paradise?" said Auron uncertainly, looking from Light to the land and then back again.

"Yeah. I'm going to make this the kind of paradise that you could only dream about! The mystery dungeons are spreading around here…" Light explained. "You never know what you mind find on land like this. I know that there are a lot of pokémon who hate that kind of uncertainty…but to me it just means that an exciting adventure could sprout up at any time!"

"I can understand," Auron nodded. It really wasn't his place to judge Light's decision. After all, it was clear that the electric type had given this moment quite a bit of thought. "I think the prospect of adventure would be a lot of fun!"

"Her eyes shone brightly as she talked about the prospect of meeting other adventurous pokemon like herself. She'd gone on to state that if they worked hard together and we'll be able to live the kind of life that'll really make you feel alive!"

"A real paradise!" Light exclaimed happily. "That's my dream!"

"It's a good dream," Auron grinned.

Light had blushed slightly at her new friend's praise before explaining that she had been saving up her money just to buy the land and that she found the perfect place.

"Actually," Light admitted despondently, more than a little embarrassed, "It's more like everywhere else was just too expensive…so I didn't really have much of a choice."

She shook her head once and her resolve strengthened once more as she proclaimed that this would be the starting point of all her dreams.

Needless to say, Auron was impressed. Light dreamed big and he could tell just by looking at her that she was more than willing to put in the time and effort needed to make those dreams become a reality. Auron wasn't going to lie but hearing Light talk about her dream made him feel pretty excited too.

He blinked when he heard Light address him.

"What are you going to do now Auron? Do you have somewhere to go?" Light asked. Auron blinked. What _was _he going to do now? It was a fair question but the fact was that he only had an objective: to save the Pokémon world and find that voice that was crying out for help. The only problem was that he had no way of accomplishing either objective at present.

"Listen," Light began trying not to sound too eager, "If you don't have anywhere to go…do you think you'd be willing to help me out? Please Auron? Would you help me make my Paradise a reality?"

Auron blinked at Light's boldness as she admitted that she wouldn't be able to do it all by herself and she wanted to have as many pokémon helping shape this paradise as possible.

"So what do you think, Auron?" Pikachu asked, repeating her question. "Will you help me make Pokémon Paradise a reality?"

"_Hmm…what should I do_," Auron wondered. He was still concerned over his current objectives both in finding that cry for help he'd heard before turning into a pokémon and then there was the bit about saving the world. Then again it's not like he had any clues to work with to discern some sort of meaning. And he didn't really have anywhere else to go. Then…maybe he should stick with Light for the time being. If he was lucky he might find some clues as to what he needed to do exactly.

Auron looked back at Light who was nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other while her eyes darted around, trying to distract her from the next few seconds.

"I'd be honored," Auron stated firmly.

Light's expression brightened so much that Auron was concerned that he might damage the photoreceptors in his eyes from how bright her smile was.

"Really?" she asked, wanting to be sure that Auron wasn't messing with her. That'd be ironic to agree and then disappear the next second. "You're really going to help me out?!" Her eyes shone hopefully.

"Yeah of course!" Auron replied eagerly. The next thing he knew was that he and Light were dancing around happily. He grinned as Light proclaimed that they'd be the best of friends and how and how an amazing of a team they'd become.

Light headed toward the vast expanse before them before she, uncharacteristically defiant, declared that she'd make all her dreams come true and dared everyone to watch and see. Auron couldn't help but sweatdrop at her proclamations but couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face soon after.

"When Light's acts so happy," Auron observed as Light continued to dance around by herself. "It makes me feel like I made the right choice!" He frowned as a slightly darker chain thoughts occurred to him starting with his disbelief about becoming a pokémon in the first place.

"It'd all started with that voice in that dream," Auron quietly recalled, folding his arms. That led to the question of how that voice came into his dream in the first place. Maybe he'd find the answer during his time as a pokémon. "And then the next thing I knew, my body had transformed." At this point, a flash of a memory appeared in his mind's eye.

He could see a pink blob pokémon being chased by the flying hydra and hoped that the chased pokémon was okay. Auron resolved to keep up his effort to look for more clues so he could find her and then help her out. Man, he sounded like a knight in shining armor or something…

Turning back to Light, Auron mused that being with Light would promise seemingly endless adventures especially with the conviction with which she spoke. How could he not be convinced? It was all so alluring!

At this point, Light had finally finished expressing and dashed back to Auron's side.

"Auron!" she declared dramatically. "Let's do our best together!"

She turned back to the landscape. "I know that there's nothing here right now but…this is place," she stated confidently.

Auron stared at her.

"This is gonna be our…PARADISE!" she let out an upbeat cheer.

* * *

That night found Auron and Light in front of a nondescript tree.

"Man, night comes around really quickly around here," Light observed.

"No kidding," Auron replied. He wondered vaguely how Light planned on turning what appeared to be a decrepit wasteland into a paradise but forced it from his mind for now. He was sure that Light would have some sort of plan. She didn't strike him as stupid but one could never be certain.

"I guess we'll have to camp out here until we can start actually creating our paradise," Light reflected as she gathered up some hay from some an nondescript location and moved them around to form small makeshift beds for Auron and herself.

Auron went to work gathering some drywood for a small fire and with Light's donation of a few sparks, their little campsite had the warm glow of a campfire to keep the pair warm until they went to sleep.

* * *

_Later that night:_

"It's so cold," Light shivered, despite her yellow fur coat. She glanced over at her Axew partner and couldn't help but stare in surprise when she saw him fast asleep. Moving closer, Light could feel the heat radiate from the dragon type's body.

Almost hypnotically, Light found herself instinctively curling into Auron's scaly body with her cheeks burning brightly with blush and was infinitely grateful that Auron was asleep.

"We definitely need to build a house," Light mused. "It'd be awful if we get some really bad weather and no way to protect ourselves from it."

With that, Light who was infinitely grateful for her naturally red cheeks moved as close to Auron as possible having brought her makeshift bed over to make a larger one and shamelessly snuggled into his side.

* * *

The next morning found Auron gradually waking up to a warm mass of fur on his side.

Wait… what?!

Auron's eyes snapped open as he found Light snuggling into his side. He wondered how and why Light had ended up here of all places…

Before he could think about it any further, Auron heard his electric type partner yawn cutely and slowly open her eyes.

It was an instantaneous reaction. Light immediately sprung up from her spot and began apologizing profusely. Auron chuckled in embarrassment and immediately reassured his flustered partner.

"Light don't worry about it," Auron grinned. "It's okay. I was feeling a little cold last night. I guess you felt it too, right?"

Light nodded vigorously and pitched the idea of building a house to her partner.

Auron didn't have to give it a great deal of thought to think it was a good idea. After all, it was hard to predict when bad weather would hit so having a safeguard against it.

"Just one problem though Light," Auron started. "Where are we going to find the help needed to build a house? Not to mention materials and design?" he added.

Light made to answer when they noticed the presence of a familiar blue water type pokémon approach their little campsite.

"Mmm…morning," Quagsire greeted.

"Good morning Quagsire," Auron and Light greeted in unison.

"Mmm…I came to see how you two were surviving, hmm? Did you two sleep well last night?" Quagsire inquired.

The duo couldn't help but blush a little at the implications behind the question and it was at this point that Auron was jealous of Light's red cheeks. At least she had a way of at least trying to hide her blush. Auron was on his own!

"It was okay," Light began, glancing discretely at Auron. "It was chilly though and we didn't really have anything to build some way to defend against it or any other bad weather…" she trailed off and Auron jumped in to finish.

"So we were thinking about building a house around here but we're not really sure where to begin," Auron explained.

"Hmm?" said Quagsire, his expression brightening inexplicably after hearing their plight. Did this guy enjoy seeing other pokémon suffer?

Auron shook his head at the strange tangent his mind had decided to take while turning back to Quagsire.

"Hmm, I think there should be a carpenter or three somewhere in Post Town," said Quagsire thoughtfully.

"Seriously?" asked Light eagerly and Quagsire nodded, explaining that if the duo asked them, they'd be able to build a house for a price of course.

"Post Town is just a quick walk from here," Quagsire continued. "I was actually going to go in and see how everyone is doing. Want to come with me?" he offered.

The duo eagerly agreed and didn't hear Quagsire mutter, "It's annoyingly empty—I mean wonderfully quiet here, hmm?"

The trio made their way through the dirt street while Quagsire explained that a lot traveling pokémon came down this path. He nodded to the crossroads that Auron and Light had been yesterday.

"So Post Town was built as a, hmm, nice rest stop for all those traveling Pokémon. He nodded at the path in front of them as the way to Post Town and gestured for them to get going.

"Well my friends," Quagsire grinned. "Welcome to Post Town."

Quagsire didn't bother to hide his smile as he watched the two pokémon look around in every direction. The more they looked, the more there was to see, much to their excitement.

Post Town was more or less was as Quagsire described it: it was essentially a village where pokémon to take a break from their travels and regale each other with stories about adventures from days gone by. The town also had more than a few shops that offered almost everything from goods such as items and equipment to an inn with a restaurant as well as a pseudo-bank in the form of a deposit box.

Auron had been a little skeptical of using the box because he suspected that their things would be easily stolen but was quickly disproved when Quagsire showed him how it worked and that each item was listed to a certain pokemon's genetic material, making it nigh on impossible for anyone, even a Ditto to try to steal from the deposit box. Not that a lot of pokémon didn't try…

Quagsire had just finished explaining the numerous shops and wares when they heard a commotion going on at the central plaza.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice asked, more like demanded. This made Auron and Light jump in surprise at the accusing tone behind it.

The trio turned to watch the mayhem unfold as a blue bird and strangest looking rock any of them had ever seen, a Ducklett and a Raggenrola, Quagsire had told them bickered.

"You just hit me on purpose, didn't you! That hurt you oaf!" Raggenrola accused. Auron facepalmed. From what he could tell, Raggenrola was a rock type so something like a passing blow shouldn't have been such a big deal…

"All I did was brush you with my beak!" Ducklett fired back, equally angry. "What's the big deal?!" Auron sweatdropped, wondering vaguely as to what sort interaction could have preceeded this to cause Ducklett to brush Raggenrola was his beak…that sounded disturbing. "Don't go throwing a fit over every little bump!"

"Hmph!" Raggenrola and Ducklett huffed in unison before going their separate ways.

_I'm surprised no one even bothered to intervene _Auron observed as all the other pokémon seemed to take this into stride and continued about their day as though nothing of consequence had happened.

Quagsire seemed to have read Auron's mind when he commented about the pokémon here being on edge more often than not. His expression darkened when he said that the conflict between pokémon just kept getting worse and worse and suspected the expansion of mystery dungeons to be involved in some way.

"Relationships between pokémon are definitely turning sour," Light agreed, feeling infinitely grateful that she and Auron had a good friendship despite how recently the bond formed. "More and more pokémon are only looking out for themselves…" Well self-preservation is pretty important so it isn't altogether surprising that pokémon may want to look out for themselves more than anyone else, except for maybe their mates…

The trio briefly discussed how much darker the world seemed to be and just brought an aura of foreboding of some unknown calamity but in the end, the trio decided to shelf it for the time being in favor of finding a carpenter.

It had been a relatively simple process thanks to Quagsire who had pointed out to the two Timburr as the carpenter's apprentices. Auron had to laugh at the names. It was just so ironic to share a name with your profession yet oddly fitting with the way they carried that log…

"Hmm, lads?" Quagsire began. "Where is your, hmm, master?"

"Our master?" one of the Timburr asked, bewildered before figuring out who Quagsire wanted. "If you mean our boss, he's inside," he nodded to the building next to them.

"Your boss is the carpenter right? We want to build a house," Light explained. "Do you think you could take us to meet your boss?"

The two Timburr exchanged a look with each other; something that made Auron feel distinctly uneasy as they agreed and urged for them to follow.

"Hmm, looks good," Quagsire commented. "I'll wait for you out here then."

"Thanks Quagsire," said Light appreciatively while Auron nodded in agreement. They'd have no idea what do if it weren't for Quagsire. The duo headed into the building where they found the Timburr pair waiting for them.

"So where's your boss?" Auron asked, looking around.

"Is that him over there?" Light asked, pointing to what appeared to be a light blue swan while the Timburr raised an eyebrow (do they even have those?).

"That ain't our boss! In what world does that look like a carpenter?" Timburr asked dryly while Light flushed in embarrassment.

"That's Swanna," the other Timburr explained. "She runs the inn and restaurant and her food is brilliant," he couldn't help but fawn.

"Anyway," the first Timburr cut in before his fellow apprentice could go into full-on fanboy mode. "Our boss is over there." He nodded to the taller version of the two Timburr who seemed to be carrying an I-beam. Auron wondered vaguely where he'd acquired such a think but decided that wondering about it wasn't worth the effort.

"GURDURR!" he shouted, causing everyone to jump in surprise.

The two Timburr couldn't help but sweat a little at that display before turning back to the electric an dragon types.

"Our boss has a bit of a vicious temper so mind your manners around him," both Timburr advised. Sound advice lest the duo inadvertently do something to make him angry.

The two Timburr led Light and Auron over to the boss Gurdurr who roared his name once more before demanding what the two Timburr wanted.

"H-hey, Boss…," began the Timburr nervously. They needed to proceed with caution lest Gurdurr explode in anger. "S-see these folks here…"

Gurdurr seemed to calm down a little at the sight of the Pikachu and Axew and said, "What this? You got some kinda job for me?"

"Yeah!" Light began. "You see, we want to build a house. I think we can do it but we need a carpenter…"

"So we decided to ask you if you could help us build this house," Auron finished.

The duo sweated nervously at Gurdurr's silence and immediately assured him that they would be paying them for their services.

"We really need a place to live," Light said sadly, "Please, won't you help us build our home?"

Gurdurr was still silent. Auron wanted to believe that Gurdurr was mulling it all over in his head but with that poker face of his, it was anyone's guess as to what was actually going through Gurdurr's mind.

"So uh…wh-what do you think, Boss?" The Timburr asked. Gurdurr was still silent which put everyone else on pins and needles, trying to anticipate his reaction to their proposal.

"GURDURR!" Gurdurr roared, causing everyone to jump for the third time that day. Auron could practically feel Swanna's glare at them and felt his body feel marginally colder.

"All right. I'll do it," he stated.

"R-really?" Light asked eagerly. Auron almost fell like doing a dance

"Yeah, really," replied Gurdurr gruffly. "I'm a carpenter ain't I? We craftsmen stick to our word."

"Th-thank you!" said Light happily as she and Auron cheered at their small victory.

Light then inquired that they needed poké so they promised to work hard and save some up before coming back. Gurdurr waved them off stating that he had no interest in money. He explained that he wanted them to go to Stony Cave and bring back some of the gems and that'll be payment especially since he'd need them to swap for supplies at the lumberyard.

"I need five little blue gems so I can swap for whatever you'll need. They'll be in the deepest part of the cave so you really can't miss them," Gurdurr explained.

"Okay," Light readily agreed while Auron regarded Gurdurr. He seemed honest enough but something seemed…off about him. Resolving to keep his guard up, Auron nodded to Light as they left the restaurant inn to set out for Stony Cave.

**Not exactly my best piece of work but all things considered, I think it turned out okay. So we're currently making tracks to building a house. That'll be fun…in a potentially death defying sort of way… **

**Question time: Do you think that the house that will be built should have any interesting quirks added? For example, the team base in blue and red rescue team bore a resemblance to the team leader's head. Do you think the house in this story should do something similar or should I try another approach and model it after a pokemon like Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky did by relocating to Sharpedo Bluff post-graduation. Let me know after you review.**


	3. Tasty Gems

**Disclaimer: My ownership of Pokémon as likely as a Magikarp learning a move that can actually get stab bonus without relying on an event or cheating.**

_Previously:_

"_I need five little blue gems so I can swap for whatever you'll need. They'll be in the deepest part of the cave so you really can't miss them," Gurdurr explained._

"_Okay," Light readily agreed while Auron regarded Gurdurr. He seemed honest enough but something seemed…off about him. Resolving to keep his guard up, Auron nodded to Light as they left the restaurant inn to set out for Stony Cave._

"Hey! You dropped this!" One of the Timburr shouted, chasing after Auron and Light who had barely made it to the door when they heard Timburr's shout. The duo turned around to face the fighting type to see what he was talking about. They could make out some shiny object gripped tightly in his hand as he slowed to a stop in front of them.

"I believe that this is yours," he handed the mysterious object to Auron who examined it carefully.

"What is it Auron?" Light asked, taking a peek over his shoulder.

"It's strange but I don't remember carrying something like this with me," Auron mused. Oh well…at least he got something that looked pretty cool.

"If you look closely, you can make out a piece of a picture," Light noted as she squinted to try to make out more details. She was able to make out a large red eye that bore a heavy resemblance to that of Auron's…

"I guess that considering that it was with you when it fell out must mean that it might be important for our future adventures," Light decided that she would keep a catalog of the ones they've found. She pulled out what looked to be a journal and placed the picture piece inside before snapping it shut.

Auron stared at her briefly wondering how she had managed to keep that thing hidden because as far as he could tell, she wasn't wearing a bag.

Shaking his head Auron said that they'd be heading out to Stony Cave and they'd see Gurdurr later with the gems in hand.

Quagsire looked up when he saw the duo leave the inn.

"How'd it go, hmm?" Quagsire asked.

"Things are looking up," Light beamed. "The carpenter accepted our offer! If we just go to Stony Cave and bring back five small blue gems then he'll help us build our house!"

"Mm-hmm," Quagsire nodded, "Sounds peachy. You can reach Stony Cave from the crossroads up ahead."

"Great!" said Light eagerly. "We'll head out right away."

"Wait!" And for the second time in less than ten minutes, the trio found themselves face to face with the Timburr duo. This made Auron wonder vaguely if the duo had some sort of fixation on them or something…

"Did I drop something else?" Auron asked, checking to make sure that he hadn't lost anything even though he wasn't actually carrying anything with him. Then again, there was the question of where that puzzle piece came from…

"No…" the Timburr exchanged a look which made Auron narrow his eyes suspiciously. Something was at work here; he didn't know what it was but he vowed to keep a sharp eye out for anything…

"Just hurry up and get those gems already," they both stated in unison as they headed back to the inn. Auron suspected that they had wanted to say something else but were probably too afraid of what Gurdurr might say and that really raised the alarm bells; he'd definitely need to keep an eye out for any trouble.

"We will," Light promised as she, Auron, and Quagsire made their way back to the crossroads.

Quagsire reminded the duo to remain vigilant as Stony Cave was a mystery dungeon.

"I know I'm going to sound stupid asking this," Auron began. "But what IS a mystery dungeon?"

His question was met with deathly silence for what felt like an eternity even though in all actuality it was more like a minute. One could hear the Kricketot chirping as Auron started sweating nervously and regretted asking when Light and Quagsire just stared at him. This went on for another minute until Light decided to take pity on him and explain.

"Mysterious things are always happening in areas like those," Light explained. "A mystery dungeon's floor layout will most likely change every time you go. Or an underground passage will lead to a place you'd never expect. But that's what makes them exciting! You'll never know what you might find! That was idea behind why I bought the land here!"

"It sure does sound fun when you put it like that," Quagsire mused. Auron half expected the older water type to begin reminiscing about adventures from years gone by about all the supposed discoveries that he'd made during his supposed time as an adventure. Alas, it was not meant to be. "Sometimes you can find rare treasures, hmm? And everything's coming up roses and then out of nowhere you might get, hmm, viciously attacked by wild pokémon."

_How encouraging…_Auron sweatdropped at Quagsire explanation. He wondered vaguely what constituted being viciously attacked…

Shaking his head, Auron had just heard Quagsire's advice to be careful and stay vigilant because who knows what might happen in a mystery dungeon?

_It seems that these mystery dungeons aren't going to be as easy as I thought_ Auron frowned as another thought occurred to him. _Then again, building a house not exactly easy either…_

"Might at least try your best in there, hmm?" Auron heard Quagsire say as he was snapped out of his thoughts. Auron had to resist the urge to facepalm at Quagsire's nonchalance. He seemed to know very well about the dangers that he and Light were about to undertake but did not seem, for the most part, concerned.

Light seemed to share these opinions but she was more than willing to let her opinion be heard and then demanded if Quagsire had felt remotely concerned about their plight.

"Hmm…nope. Never bothered to be concerned about anything in my life!" Auron wasn't sure if he wanted to faceplant into the ground or just start laughing out loud at Quagsire's nonchalance. He had decided on the latter with what he said next. It was reassuring to know that Quagsire had confidence in their albeit limited battling skills.

"I get the feeling that, hmm, you two can make it through anything as long as you have each other. It's rather reassuring, hmm?"

The duo glanced at each other, wondering how they could be such good friends even though they had only known each other for what appeared to be less than a day.

Light could safely say that she felt something strong with Auron. It gave her the courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter how hard things got. As long as Auron was with her, she could do anything. At least, that's how Light felt.

Auron shared similar feelings. Light's determination inspired him and he knew that he could always count on her when he needed her.

The two were so distracted by each other that they only barely registered that Quagsire admitted that he had no proof to back up his claims.

Before heading out, Light and Auron clarified what their goal was: to gather five small blue gems from Stony Cave to bring back to Gurdurr so that he could help them build a house.

"Let's go," said Auron firmly as he led the way through the crossroads and they traveled northwest to get to Stony Cave. Mercifully, the cave entrance wasn't far from the crossroads so getting there didn't take too long. Getting to the deepest part of the cave would be a new challenge entirely but Auron and Light were nothing if not persistent.

Upon entering Stony Cave, the pair was met with a nasty shock of coming face to face with several of what appeared to be light blue puffballs with bats' wings.

"What are those things?" Auron muttered.

"Woobat," said Light. "They like to live in the cave and try to attack anyone who approaches. You have to be careful around them." Auron nodded in agreement.

Slowly but surely, Auron had learned how to use his Assurance attack such that he'd be able to strike multiple enemies simultaneously. Light, on the other hand, had since discovered that her tail had potential to be a potentially dangerous weapon and suffice to say that Light had learned how to block plenty of lower leveled attacks courtesy of her tail.

Light had also taken more time to explain type match ups and move classification as physical or special. Some were relatively straightforward like electricity to water while others were more complicated like dark to ghost but Auron had gotten the gist of what Light explained and exploited it.

It had taken awhile for what Light had explained to full sink it but once Auron had gotten a chance to battle some of the joltik, gothita, and woobat, it had all made sense to him, much to Light's delight.

From that point, Auron had started taking a more active approach to battles and creating more innovative ways of using his unfortunately limited move set. He'd learned to hit multiple enemies at once with a single attack if he quickly spun where he stood.

Light had learned to do something similar with her tail now more akin to a blade that an appendage intended to keep balance. Auron had stared in shock when a Woobat had tried to blow Light into a wall with a gust attack and she had managed to slam her tail into the ground and create a strong foothold before retaliating with a Thundershock attack.

Several floors later and tens of unfortunately knocked out pokémon later, and Auron had felt more confident about being a battler while at the same time growing stronger and developing several countermeasures against the 'vicious wild pokemon' as Quagsire had succinctly put it. He'd felt even better when he had inadvertently learned Dragon Rage.

Light, not one to stand by and let her partner do all the work, had learned how to use Thunder Wave and improve the strength behind her attacks by quickly rubbing her own cheeks to generate a few sparks for her to work with to more easily generate energy.

Because of all the extra training the duo did while traversing deeper into the cave, battles had since gone from intense challenges to minor annoyances but the duo still reveled in the newfound strength and ease with which they could use their powers. Especially Auron who had never been able to do anything quite like this because while being human granted some pretty awesome perks, one couldn't really fathom being able to shoot attacks out of their mouth or cheeks.

As a result, it wasn't long before the intrepid duo finally made it to the end of the cave. They probably would have made it sooner if Light hadn't insisted on practicing on every pokémon in eyeshot. Auron could swear that Light gave training a whole new meaning especially with how passionate she seemed to have become.

"What's that?" Auron asked, noticing a bright light ahead. As it got brighter, the duo slowed to a stop and took around at their new surroundings. The source of light appeared to have come from the bright rocks in front of them.

"These must be the blue gems that Gurdurr was talking about!" said Light eagerly as they both proceeded to grab several stones.

Light had chosen to store hers in her pouch while Auron, in a moment of pure impulsive stupidity, decided to stuff his in his mouth. Light stared at him in shock as he managed to fit the last gem in his cheeks.

"Hey, these actually taste pretty good!" Auron exclaimed when one of the gems rubbed against his tongue. He tried to determine the flavor but all he could make out was that it was sweet. As a result, it took a great deal of self-control to suppress the desire to eat the gems outright.

After the shock of the usually level headed Auron pulling a stunt like that had passed, Light couldn't suppress her giggles while Auron grinned as best he could with five gems in his mouth. They _would _get Gurdurr to build them a house it was the last thing they did. Okay, maybe not _quite _that extreme but it got the point across and honestly, Gurdurr never said that they couldn't have saliva on them and small did leave quite a bit of room for interpretation...

Light just hoped that Auron would be able to breathe with those gems in his mouth as she led the way back to Post Town.

"Come on Auron!" said Light impatiently as the two dashed toward Post Town and Auron was starting to regret carrying the gems in his mouth. While he knew that they were delicious and that no one had stolen his yet and felt safe in thinking that no one had tried to steal Light's gems either…

_Light must really be excited _Auron mused as they reached the crossroads. _She's gotta be thrilled to think that she has her own home. I can understand that kind of feeling._ With that, Auron quickened his pace to catch up with his speedy partner.

"We're finally back in Post Town!" said Light eagerly as she and Auron stepped back into the familiar village-like town.

"It hasn't been that long since we left," Auron pointed out thickly through the gems in his mouth. As far as he could tell, it had only been a few hours…

Light ignored him in favor stating that they needed to find Gurdurr so that they could begin work building that house. Light had a one-track mind; that much was clear.

Before they could get moving, a light brown blur crashed into Light who then crashed into Auron and it was all he could do to make sure that he didn't spit out the gems by mistake.

Light couldn't help blush at how close together they were and immediately separated.

"Watch it," she snapped out the light brown pokémon.

"I-I'm sorry," the brown pokemon apologized. Now that he was no longer a blur, Auron was able to make a red underbelly and what appeared to be matching saggy pants… "I'm just in a really big hurry! E-Excuse me!" The duo watched as the unknown pokémon dashed away. Auron narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the pokémon but decided against pursuing it as the duo made their way back to the inn.

"Where is everyone?" Auron asked as he cleaned off his saliva from the blue gems courtesy of a cloth Swanna had graciously donated. It wasn't that late in the day was it? The sun was still high above them and no intentions of setting just yet.

"I know that Gurdurr and the Timburr duo were on their way to Hazy Pass last I heard," said Swanna as she returned to work on preparing another order of food for the beginnings of the dinner rush.

"Where's Hazy Pass?" Light asked quickly. She wanted to find Gurdurr as soon as possible to so they could get to work building that house.

Swanna pointed to a map on the wall and with a well maintained wing, "You can get there from the crossroads. All you have to do is keep going west and you should make it to Hazy Pass."

"Sounds good. Thanks a lot!" Auron shouted as he made to return the cloth but Swanna waved him off, insisting that he needed it more than she did presently. With that, Auron ran off with Light at his heels.

"Hey Auron!" Light shouted when she and her favorite dragon type made it back to the crossroads for the fourth time that day. "Do you want me to carry your gems? I'd rather you not stuff them in your mouth at the risk of you choking."

Auron nodded and smiled appreciatively as he handed over his recently cleaned gems and Light placed them in her pouch next to where her gems were supposed to be…

Wait…what!

"Where are my gems?!" Light wailed as she rummaged through her things, searching frantically for her wayward gems but to no avail. They were gone.

Auron knew for a fact that Light had not dropped them, having been behind her all the way back to Post Town and if she did, he would have surely noticed. He knew for a fact that nothing of consequence had happened during their trek back to Post and on their way to the inn…

"Wait a sec," Auron realized. His mind replayed the scene where they returned to Post Town and at that moment, he saw the light brown pokémon crash into Light. He wondered vaguely if that pokémon had something to do with it…

"It's okay Light," Auron reassured when he noticed the tears forming in his partner's eyes. That sight always made him feel more than a little uncomfortable and he did everything in his power to stop those accursed tears from making their way down her red cheeks. "We still have my gems so once we find Gurdurr, we'll still be able to build that house."

What came next was something he'd never expect and that was for Light to throw her small forearms around his neck and hug him tightly while at the same time mumbling words of gratitude in his ear.

"Thank you so much Auron," she had whispered over and over in his ear as she nuzzled her cheeks with his own, causing the dragon type's cheeks to burn though not necessarily in a bad way. She then proceeded to pull herself closer to him, unable and unwilling to pull away from her dragon type friend.

"No problem," he muttered, looking away a little embarrassed as he reluctantly pulled away from her tight embrace. "Come on, let's get going," he grinned as he led the way to Hazy Pass.

**This one had much more action and some sort of idea of the additionally abilities I want Auron and Light to have during the course of this story. This is just my way of attempting to apologize for the lack of action last chapter even though I only vaguely mentioned any actual battling. Nonethless, I think this is a good place to stop.**

**Review Question time: If you built a dojo in Gates to Infinity, what would you expect from said dojo and why? Let me know after you review.**


	4. Confessions and Confrontations

**Disclaimer: As always, Pokemon does not belong to me! Although I do have a few video games from the series, a ton of trading cards, and a few plushies if that counts for anything...**

_Previously:_

_"It's okay Light," Auron reassured when he noticed the tears forming in his partner's eyes. That sight always made him feel more than a little uncomfortable and he did everything in his power to stop those accursed tears from making their way down her red cheeks. "We still have my gems so once we find Gurdurr, we'll still be able to build that house."_

_What came next was something he'd never expect and that was for Light to throw her small forearms around his neck and hug him tightly while at the same time mumbling words of gratitude in his ear._

_"Thank you so much Auron," she had whispered over and over in his ear as she nuzzled her cheeks with his own, causing the dragon type's cheeks to burn though not necessarily in a bad way. She then proceeded to pull herself closer to him, unable and unwilling to pull away from her dragon type friend._

_"No problem," he muttered, looking away a little embarrassed as he reluctantly pulled away from her tight embrace. "Come on, let's get going," he grinned as he led the way to Hazy Pass._

* * *

Much like Stony Cave, Hazy Pass wasn't especially far away but it took longer to get there because as the name implied, as they got closer to their destination, the hazier it got. It had reached the point that Auron and Light had to hold onto each other to prevent from getting separated.

On the plus side, at least the haze around them wasn't poisonous. That'd put a damper into this little adventure especially since they hadn't exactly found a whole lot of Pecha berries during their trek through Stony Cave.

"Let's go," said Auron firmly as he took the lead and headed into the dungeon with Light clutching his paw tightly, fearing that he would disappear if she let go for even the shortest of seconds.

This one not like Stony Cave. It was more outdoors than Stony Cave had been and was in close resemblance with a puzzle of sorts.

Auron took the initiative and bounced on a vertically shaped shiny log which seemed to sink under his weight and caused another to spring up. Auron and Light noticed to more brightly colored logs that, more than likely, activated some kind of staircase to get to the next level.

The duo divided and conquered as they each jumped onto one of the logs, springing up more logs of varying sizes. By the end, they had managed to create a sort of pseudo-staircase and were able to make tracks into the actual dungeon.

This one definitely lived up to its name, a hazy layer permeated through the air and made seeing a little difficult but didn't inhibit their battling skills in the slightest. In fact, Auron considered it great accuracy training since he couldn't rely solely on his eyes to land attacks on his enemies and needed to rely on his other senses.

He was very fortunate that a pokemon's senses were much keener than those of a human as he managed to evade an attack from a nearby Wooper.

Light had considered it a team building exercise as she and Auron worked together to bring down their foes who dared to use the haze as a cover to attack one of them.

Holding onto Auron when they weren't battling just happened to be a very nice bonus. Or at least, that what she kept telling herself.

Needless to say that anyone who tried to blindside them received a vicious counterattack in the form of a Thundershock and a Dragon Rage.

It wasn't long before the duo came upon another puzzle. Fortunately, the puzzle worked more or less the same as the last one did and the clever duo made it through with no problems as they continued to battle and beat the progressively more powerful enemies.

* * *

"We've come pretty far haven't we," Light commented as they made their way to what seemed to be a large clearing with nary an enemy in sight, much to the pair's relief. They'd been getting a little exhausted from the relentless stream of enemies that were bent on attacking them.

"Yeah, let's take a little break before we keep moving," Auron suggested and Light readily agreed, collapsing on the ground right next to him. They spent the better part of several minutes trying to regain their bearings before realizing how hungry they were and quickly went to work at munching away at an unfortunate pair of apples.

Luckily they didn't need much time before they were on their feet and traversing the rest of the pass with relative ease.

* * *

Having finally made out of what seemed to be the end of the pass, Light caught sight of the brown pokémon and demanded to give him a piece of her mind.

Auron however heard footsteps and narrowed his eyes at the familiarity, hoping beyond all hope that he was wrong.

"Light, I think we need to hide," said Auron hastily, completely disregarding Light's current mood as she made to storm turned the unfortunate brown pokémon.

Before she could put up a protest, Light found herself being dragged behind a rock.

"What's the big idea Auron!" Light demanded as she watched Auron peak over the edge of the rock that they were hiding behind.

"Light, be quiet," Auron whispered frantically. "If you want to talk then whisper."

Light grumbled a little but agreed nonetheless, wondering acutely what had caused Auron to be more cautious than usual.

She soon got her answer.

"That's—That's Gurdurr!" Light exclaimed quietly. "Why's Gurdurr here of all places?"

"He's probably working with that brown pokémon, Light," Auron guessed with a shrug as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. What was Gurdurr up to?

"Sorry for the late arrival, Scraggy," Gurdurr apologized, his voice uncharacteristically smooth and silky sounding. It almost sounded professional.

"Took ya long enough," the brown pokémon, Scraggy, grumbled. "I wanna get down to business, yo!"

"Don't be like that," said Gurdurr silkily as he moved closer to Scraggy who blushed at the close contact with the much taller muscular pokémon. "I've gotta be careful to make sure that I'm not being followed either."

Meanwhile, Auron and Light weren't sure whether to feel sorry for Scraggy or disturbed at what was about to happen.

"It takes a lot of effort to keep up this kind of scam, know what I mean?" Gurdurr asked, flexing his muscles and Scraggy couldn't help but admire how big they were before shaking his head to dispel the thoughts. He needed to keep this interaction strictly professional! Feelings had no place being here!

He had been so distracted, trying to regain his composure that he almost missed what Gurdurr said next.

"You clearly haven't lost your touch though," Gurdurr grinned, running a free hand along the length of Scraggy's arm. "Still quite the skillful little thief, aren't you. So where's the cash?"

"Yeah, yeah…I've got what I promised you," Scraggy said with a shake of his head while trying to ignore shivers from Gurdurr's caresses, if they could be called that. "Gettin' a little greedy aren't you…"

"Hmph! Who are you calling greedy?" asked Gurdurr indignantly, all sense of professionalism gone. "Those blue gems will pay you back big time if you sell them in the west. Compared to that, the poké you pay me is like a drop in the bucket, eh?"

"Heh, that's true enough," Scraggy grinned. "I could go into Stony Cave and get some myself but it tends to get a little…dicey in there…Having you lend your particular expertise to that problem is just plain expedient. Ain't no other way about it."

"I'm going to have those two fools Auron and Light bring me more blue gems. I'll be counting on the usual amount when they do," said Gurdurr coldly.

"What! You're going to have 'em get you even more? Those little losers?!" Behind the rock, Auron and Light scowled at being duped by Gurdurr and Scraggy. They would pay for this one way or another.

"After all, they're still dumb enough to believe I'll build them a house. At this rate, I'll be able to send them after more gems for the rest of their lives," said Gurdurr coldly. Auron gritted his teeth while Light's cheeks sparked angrily. Auron had half contemplated doing as Gurdurr had mentioned previously and sell his gems westward. They could use the money to build a very nice house if what the price on those gems is accurate.

Scraggy looked on, thoroughly surprised that Gurdurr would be heartless enough to keep this up by using their dream against them. That was just low, even for the two fighting types. At least, that's what Scraggy seemed to believe.

"You actually think I'd cry over something like that?" Gurdurr scoffed as he watched the thief reduced to a tearful mess on the ground. "You, the great Scraggy, who pulls off way meaner schemes in the west!"

Scraggy's personality seemed to take a completely 180 reversal as he brightened and conceded that Gurdurr had him there and began laughing with Gurdurr quickly joining in. Light and Auron stared in shock at how low those two were to make pseudo-slaves out of two innocent pokémon.

Stupid naïve optimism.

* * *

"You thieving little—!" Gurdurr and Scraggy turned at the familiar voices and their eyes widened in shock at the sight of Auron and Light dashing toward them.

"What! You two!" Gurdurr shouted.

"We heard you were coming here, Gurdurr," said Auron grimly. "So we decided to come here so we could give you our gems so you could build us a house."

Gurdurr narrowed his eyes as Auron pulled out five gems from Light's pouch and Gurdurr turned to glare at Scraggy.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that, yo!" Scraggy protested. "I did manage to steal the ones from her!" He pointed at Light.

"So you DID steal them!" Auron accused, dropping into a battle stance. "I knew it!"

"I have to admit Auron," Light couldn't help but laugh, "But your idea was absolutely brilliant."

Gurdurr and Scraggy stared at the duo before Lighth explained. "Auron was suspicious about carrying so many gems and didn't want to keep them in one place so he," at this point she had to stifle her giggles. "decided to stuff them in his mouth!"

She couldn't suppress it anymore and burst out laughing while Auron grinned sheepishly while retorting that she had to admit that he was a genius for being able to predict this possibility.

Once the two had managed to compose themselves, their angry expressions returned at the fighting types' transgressions against them.

"Gurdurr," Light hissed, her cheeks sparking ominously. "That was quite the convincing act you played, huh!"

"Hmph," Gurdurr scoffed. "Anyone who expect honesty in this world is a fool. That's what you get for trusting me. Dream big and you lose big." That mentality was generally accurate for slackers and possibly for gamblers. "It's your own fault for getting tricked." Oh sure, blame the victim. What a coward.

"You knew I had stolen your gems?" Scraggy asked incredulously. "You mean you actually saw through my mad skills? I'm impressed, losers."

"Can you call them 'mad skills' if we were able to foil them so easily?" Auron shot back. "Hubris will be your downfall. Just you wait and see," Auron added confidently, glaring defiantly as his new adversaries.

Scraggy ignored him and asked what they were going to do now? As it was, according to Scraggy, they had both been tousling with the biggest baddest brutes in all the land for his entirely life.

"The battles I've lived through…well, little squirts like you couldn't imagine. It'd be best for you to just go back home to your mamas, you hear?" said Scraggy dismissively.

"Oh I'm sure I could imagine a few," Auron challenged grimly, several morbid images of death inexplicably popping into his head while Light stared at him worriedly. She sincerely hoped that her best friend and number one partner would not lose himself in his anger.

"I don't care what kind of battles you may have been through!" Light shouted as she also dropped into a battle stance. "We're taking you down right here and right now!"

"My, my, my. And even after I went through the trouble of warning you losers," Scraggy shook his head, vaguely disappointed.

"You don't have a bit of sense between the two of you, do you?" said Gurdurr as he raised the I-beam over his head and slammed it down in a show of intimidation.

Auron and Light stood firm. They would not back down. Their dream was on the line here. They had no choice but to fight.

"Fine then," Scraggy shrugged. "We'll just have to show you what a big mistake you're making by challenging us!"

* * *

Scraggy had immediately tried to fake out the duo but no avail because they knew what he was an immediately jumped away from the blows before retaliating with a Thundershock and scratch attack.

Gurdurr backed up Scraggy by swinging his I-beam in a blindingly fast wide arc that Auron and Light barely avoided by ducking.

Seeing that Gurdurr was wide open, Auron dashed toward Gurdurr who tried to crush Auron's skull with his I-beam. Auron jumped this and scratched at Gurdurr's face twice before landing and nailing the fighting type with a dragon rage to the back. Auron grinned when he managed to force Gurdurr off the ground and forced him to crash into a wall.

Meanwhile, Scraggy had since kept Light at arm's length at the very least as he continued to attack her relentlessly with Faint Attacks.

Light grimaced as she failed to dodge another Faint Attack. It was like he was teleporting right into her blind spot and attacking her! This was so frustrating!

"Time for another approach," Light muttered as she took off using her infamous speed as she dashed toward Scraggy as soon as his most recent Faint attack finished.

"Gotcha!" Light exclaimed eagerly, only for her to pass through a copy. She snarled as the copy vanished and found Scraggy standing behind her with a smug smirk on his face.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want any chance of beating me," Scraggy grinned as he leered at her, making her feel uncomfortable and before Light could blink, he had nailed her with a headbutt of all things!

Things weren't going much better on Auron's end, to be totally honest.

Gurdurr was relentless in his attacks and it was nearly impossible to predict which move he'd use and when or how he'd use it.

Auron grimaced as hurled several rocks at him, forcing him to keep his distance as he found himself walled off from Scraggy and Light.

_He's really clever_ Auron admitted. _Dividing us so they could take us down one on one was a really clever strategy_. It was also a problem because Auron hadn't completely adjusted to battling as a pokémon despite all the admittedly one-sided battles he and Light had gone through before getting to this point.

Auron dodged more swings of Gurdurr's I-beam before scratching away at Gurdurr's face before blasting him into the ground with Dragon Rage.

"You think you're clever don't you," Gurdurr muttered, a dark grin on his face that made Auron's blood go cold. He didn't like the implications behind that tone…

With a roar, Gurdurr slammed a fist into the ground and stalagmites appeared and Auron was only barely able to dodge them with well-timed somersaults.

This seemed to make Gurdurr even angrier and Auron noticed that his attacks get even more powerful as he somersaulted his way toward Gurdurr.

Meanwhile, Light had a realization as Scraggy managed to evade her many Thundershock attacks with Double Team.

"Still your mind," Light whispered, closing her eyes. "Move on instinct." She could feel more in tune with her surroundings and suddenly felt a shift in weight to her side and instinctually dodged and grinned when she felt a small breeze pass her, telling that she had managed to evade Scraggy's latest attempt at his Double Team and Headbutt combo.

She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, completely stupefied. "How did you sense where I was, yo?"

Seizing her chance, Light quickly paralyzed him with a Thunder Wave before attacking him relentlessly with a seemingly endless chain of Thundershock attacks.

Scraggy found himself more vulnerable after constant Thundershocks and Light had taken a chance and managed to launch Scraggy into the air with a Tail Whip.

Light showed no mercy. This brown lizard had stolen her dreams and while Gurdurr was just as guilty, Scraggy was right in front of her and was the only available outlet to release her emotions. With that, Light kept blasting away at Scraggy with a mix of Thundershocks and Thunder Waves before they both fell to the ground.

While Light had managed to land in a crouch, Scraggy was not nearly as lucky as he landed face first onto the ground and clearly knocked out.

"No one messes with us and gets away with it," Light growled as she moved towards the rocks.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment that the rock wall started to collapse as it came down like a rock slide.

Caught by surprise, all Light could do was scream before the rocks hit their mark and forced Light flying into the wall, and leaving her at her knees.

Gurdurr roared as he managed to grab Auron and throw him into the rock wall he had created before slamming his I-beam down and another sharp stalagmite and sent Auron skyward.

Auron swore he could see stars as he hit the ground. It was at that moment that he heard the rock wall collapse and much to his horror, heard a feamle's scream.

Light!

Anger unlike anything he had ever felt traveled through Auron's veins at the sight of Light's unconscious form on the ground.

All of a sudden, a power unlike anything he'd ever felt rushed into every pore in his body as he dashed toward Gurdurr faster than he could have dreamed possible while also channeling this unknown power through his arms and chopped away at Gurdurr who was too stunned at Auron's new found power and paid the price when he slammed into the rock face and felt darkness overtake him.

At this point, Light had been able to regain some semblance of consciousness when she heard the loud THUD of a body hitting the rock face.

Struggling to her feet found her staring into the unconsciousness face of Gurdurr. Looking around allowed Light to find Auron who had made to move toward the now unconscious Gurdurr with incredible speed.

Light had to rely on her own speed to cut him off and it was at this point that she noticed that his eyes were glowing a bright white as she clutched at his arm.

"Don't do it," she pleaded with him. "Please Auron! You already beat him!" she cried as she felt tears pushing against her eyes, demanding a release. "There's nothing more to gain by continuing this fight!"

Light's words hadn't done much to deter the angry dragon type so she kicked things up a notch and pulled him into her arms out of instinct. She didn't know why she thought this might work but knew that she enjoyed his embrace immensely.

She wasn't disappointed as she felt the last tendrils of power vanish from his body and he collapsed.

**I hope you guys enjoyed my attempt at writing a decent battle scene. So Auron and Light defeat Scraggy and Gurdurr while wondering how Auron had managed to summon such unbelievable power. All will be revealed soon…**

**Reviewer question type: What was the most intense battle situation you've found yourself in while playing a game? I've gotten quite of inspiration from games that fight in real time as to make the battles to be more realistic.**

**Please read and review.**


	5. Explanations and War

**Disclaimer: If my ownership was a Pokémon, it'd be level 0. That about sums it up, I think. **

_Previously:_

"_Don't do it," she pleaded with him. "Please Auron! You already beat him!" she cried as she felt tears pushing against her eyes, demanding a release. "There's nothing more to gain by continuing this fight!"_

_Light's words hadn't done much to deter the angry dragon type so she kicked things up a notch and pulled him into her arms out of instinct. She didn't know why she thought this might work but knew that she enjoyed his embrace immensely._

_She wasn't disappointed as she felt the last tendrils of power vanish from his body and he collapsed._

* * *

It was wasn't long after Auron had collapsed that Light had also yielded to that pesky fatigue that insisted on taking her under. Was it going to take her out for dinner? She _was_ getting a little hungry…

But before she had collapsed, Light couldn't help but admire Auron's developing build. He may not have been a pokémon for very long but he was certainly getting the hang of learning how to fight like a pokémon. It didn't hurt that he had been able to come up with improvised techniques on the fly much like she had done to disable Scraggy's faint attack double team combination.

She grimaced at the large bruises that she had received from those hits. She would make them pay for that all in good time though.

In the time that the duo had been unconscious, Scraggy and Gurdurr had regained consciousness not long after. The former had left for parts unknown while the latter had decided to traverse the rest of the path for reasons known only to himself.

Thankfully, Auron and Light hadn't be incapacitated for a long time and were able to get their bearings relatively quickly although Auron couldn't remember how he'd defeated Gurdurr in the first place. He had been skeptical when Light had recounted her version of events but in the end gave her the benefit of the doubt. It did explain that rush of power he felt before his memories went blank before regaining consciousness and it's not like he could trust Gurdurr's or Scraggy's word on the subject…

"Come on Auron," Light waved when the dragon type had finally gotten his bearings. He nodded at her as Light led the way towards the cave system that would surely lead to the summit. He'd spotted a puzzle piece and paused to pick it up. This one appeared to have half of a pikachu's face. Auron wanted to suspect it was Light but couldn't say for sure.

Shrugging, Auron put it away and caught up to his Pikachu partner who had been waiting patiently for him to catch up to her.

"Wait!" they heard two familiar voices call out to them, causing the dragon and electric types to turn and find the Timburr bros. dashing towards them.

"Hey you guys," said Auron as the two fighting types slowed to a stop. "What are you guys doing here anyway?" He narrowed his eyes, "Are you here to finish what Gurdurr and Scraggy started because if you are…" Auron trailed off as he and Light assumed a battle stance. They weren't going to pull any punches this time.

"No! No! No! We're not here to fight you!" they hastily said in unison. When the duo had reluctantly stood down, the Timburr brothers explained that they wanted to explain Gurdurr's behavior.

"I don't think anything can justify theft," said Light harshly. If it hadn't been for Auron recklessly carrying his gems in his mouth, there would have been a real problem. Admittedly it wouldn't have been as big a problem as Auron choking but that was neither here nor there. "Especially given the circumstances under which said gems were acquired."

The Timburr bros nodded.

"We're not asking you to forgive him. We only want to explain to why Gurdurr's behaving the way he is now."

* * *

Auron and Light had started a small campfire while the Timburr brothers had searched for food and wood that they could use for the fire barring of course their wood beams. Those were a part of their identity and there was no way they were going to be getting their identity burned even for self-preservation.

As the quartet ate quietly with the occasional slurping of some water, the two fighting types recounted their story.

"You see," Timburr (1) began. "Our bose…he used to be this incredible carpenter…really!" he insisted on seeing the duo's faces.

"Everyone loved his work back then," Timburr (2) explained. "We were in awe of his skill and that's why we wanted to work with him."

"Being his apprentices back then was really, really fun…" said Timburr (1), a faraway look in his eyes that looked far too familiar to Auron.

"But then," said Timburr (2), "Our boss got injured one day…After he injured his back, he couldn't move the way he used to. His body wouldn't listen so he couldn't build the way he used to either."

"Hold on," Auron cut in as the image of the scar began to form in his mind. He'd remember striking there a few times when he and Gurdurr had battled. Maybe that was why he'd managed to take down the more experienced fighting type. "That's what that slashed shaped scar came from isn't it?"

"Couldn't he get some sort of treatment?" Light asked. "Surely that has to be a way to at least make living with such a condition easier…"

"Only problem being as the nearest hospital is too far away…Swanna had done all she could and that was how Gurdurr managed to make out in one piece," Timburr (1) explained. Light immediately resolved to have a treatment center as top priority.

Once Auron and Light had sufficient answers, the Timburr brothers continued to exuded praises for their boss's persistence despite his injury. They had explained that a real carpenter always puts his pride into his work and that was what had kept Gurdurr going.

"But then…it happened…" said Timburr (2) grimly. Auron had half expected a shock of lightning and glanced at Light who shook her head. He shrugged and turned back to the fighting types across from them.

"What happened?" Light asked, clearly interested.

"A certain pokémon asked us to build him a house," Auron narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling about how this story was going to end and he didn't like it one bit.

"Work had gotten pretty scarce by that time so we were happy to finally have a job, all three of us…" Timburr (1) explained passionately. "We poured our hearts into that house. We used up every last drop of energy we had to build it…" At this point Timburr (1) was so overcome by emotion that he couldn't continue and so his brother took over.

"And that pokémon…He started by bashing the quality of our work…And then he destroyed that house…right in front of our eyes…" Timburr (2) at this point was too choked up to continue as Auron's eyes had become slits at this point.

Auron suddenly saw a silhouette of a large pokémon, flames as high as the sky, carnage as far as the eye could see and then a high cold laugh with malicious intent… The next thing he heard was Light's indignant shriek. No one had noticed his lapse in concentration. That was good.

"At first, we thought h-he tore it down because our work wasn't good e-enough," Gurdurr (1) eventually recovered. "If that were the r-reason, then I guess we w-would have had to deal with it."

"But it wasn't the reason was it," said Auron suddenly as the flames came to the forefront of his mind. "It was out of spite," he concluded, "he'd done it on purpose to avoid getting payment, am I right?"

All three of them stared Auron in shock? How had he figured it out?

"E-Exactly!" Timburr (2) couldn't hold back the sobs as the pain from the day returned to the forefront of his mind, the memories as vivid as though they had just happened.

Auron blinked in surprise when he felt the combined weight of the Timburr bros. knock him over. Light's eyes narrowed suspiciously while Auron had merely sighed and just held the Timburr brothers as well as he could with his small arms while looking to Light. She had then tried to pry her dragon type partner away from the fighting type duo but to no avail: they had him in a vicegrip.

"E-Ever since that day," Timburr (1) stuttered, burying his head into Auron's shoulder, "Our b-boss has lost all c-confidence in himself. H-He gave into his despair and stopped w-working altogether."

"A-And eventually," Timburr (2) carried on for his brother while also burying his head into Auron's shoulder, "h-he started cheating o-other pokémon…like you." Auron awkward patted the fighting types sympathetically while staring at Light desperately who felt an unknown surge of something well up as she moved closer and with an unknown surge of strength, pulled him toward her. The Timburr bros. were properly embarrassed and begged for the duo not to breathe a word.

"But hold on," Light said abruptly after pulling Auron away. "If the pokémon was toying with you from the beginning then that has no bearing on how good or bad your work was. Gurdurr shouldn't have given up faith because of that!"

"We tried to tell him that," they both insisted. "But the boss just wouldn't listen to a word we said. In the end, he was the one who felt the loss of his skills the most."

"And that house," said Timburr (1) passionately, "He tried so hard to do a perfect job building that house and then it all got torn down right in front of his eyes. I don't think it's any surprise that he gave up after that." Auron was inclined to agree. While he didn't agree with what Gurdurr had done after the accident, he could sympathize with how far downhill he'd come after his accident.

"But that doesn't mean that he should have become a…a…criminal!" Timburr (2) shouted out angrily pounding the ground. His brother looked scandalized at the thought. "We don't want the boss to keep doing these kinds of bad things! We thought that this time we could change things this time around."

"That was what you wanted to tell us about before," Auron realized, remember the instance where the Timburr bros. approached them after they had left the inn.

"Right," both Timburr nodded. "But in the end, the boss…isn't going to change, is he?"

"We just want to work together with the boss again," Auron could see round two of the waterworks in the making and had no intention of sticking around for the inevitable. He'd already experienced it once and had no intention of repeating the feat. "We want him to go back to being the same old boss who loved what he did." Fortunately for Auron, the brothers did not throw themselves at him. That experience had been awkward enough for the dragon type especially since his female electric type partner had been less than pleased with that interaction.

"…You know what it means, right Auron?" Light asked, glancing at her partner.

"I know exactly what you mean," Auron nodded. He couldn't think of anyone better suited and it was a win-win for all parties involved. He could see the mounting bewilderment on the Timburr bros. faces and Auron couldn't quite fight the smile that formed on his face.

"Guys," said Light firmly, catching their attention. "We want you and Gurdurr to build our house. No doubt about it, right Auron?"

Auron nodded emphatically but offered no more reasoning.

The fighting type pair stared at the young pokémon in surprise. They had been surprised that even after Gurdurr's deception that they'd want him to build their house.

"Don't forget; we still have our five blue gems," Light reminded them. They had both gotten five each in case something like this had happened.

Light had also admitted being more than a little curious about what kind of house the trio might build. "A house with all your heart and soul poured into it; that's the kind of house I'd want to live in," she had told them.

"Even if he says no," Light continued, "We'll keep asking him until he agrees."

Auron could see the next waterworks wave and immediately hid behind Light. Unfortunately for him, they had somehow gotten past her and immediately tackled Auron into a hug.

"Why are you guys hugging me?!" Auron protested as they kept crying out words of gratitude while Light immediately pulled him away and glared at the Timburr brothers. She really didn't appreciate these two hugging her partner right in front of her.

Auron suggested they get some rest before they continued up the path in the morning.

* * *

The quartet had left their little campsite with swift efficiency as they resumed their trek up the pass.

Light had commented on Auron's using a new move during the battle the previous day. "I didn't recognize what it was but your arms were glowing a blinding white as they relentlessly chopped away at Gurdurr," Light explained while Auron looked thoughtful.

The Timburr brothers looked on, clearly intrigued while Auron recounted their eventful battle the day before.

Nonetheless, the quartet had worked hard and because it had developed some more countermeasures against enemies. Auron had learned how to battle while in the air thanks to watching how Light had gracefully been able to jump from stone wall to stone wall and had managed to release plenty of increasingly powerful electric attacks.

The Timburr bros. already had several combination attacks at their disposal and had been less than reluctant to share them with anyone who dared to oppose their goal.

Auron had also noticed the abundance of items and puzzle pieces that they'd found here and it made him suspicious.

"Gurdurr is up ahead, I think," said Light grimly as she had decided to take the lead for the time being while Auron and the Timburr brothers were still regaining the last vestiges of strength needed to keep going. Auron wondered how she could tell but in the end he had just assumed that she could sense it. He made a mental note to ask her to teach him how to do that. The Timburr bros had suspected her seemingly cosmic abilities but wrote it off as something else.

At any rate, Auron had soon taken up the lead and was fortunate enough to get a little bit of battle practice in now that he was fully recovered.

He had explained his countermeasure against Gurdurr's I-beam to Light who had in exchange recounted how she had countered Scraggy's double team by sensing her surroundings as opposed to using her eyes.

Both had attempted to implement the others idea but alas, fighting types were few and far in between in this cave.

It was not long before they spotted the literal light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel as they found themselves overlooking a cliff. The biggest shock was finding that Gurdurr was standing there peacefully with not a care in the world although the battle earlier would have indicated otherwise.

"You two should probably wait here," Auron advised. "Me and Light will talk to some sense into him first."

* * *

Light and Auron watched curiously as Gurdurr raised a hand toward the moon and clutched it into a fist. They could barely make out the words "still no good then."

At this point, Light intervened.

"Gurdurr!" she shouted, Auron hot on her heels.

He had soon turned around and demanded what they were doing there.

"We've been looking for you," Light began, pulling out Auron's blue gems from her bag. "You needed these to trade for supplies right?" the males stared at her incredulously. What was she playing at?

"I thought you'd still be angry," Gurdurr muttered, turning away from the duo without a second glance. Auron and Light exchanged a look of surprise. They had thought for sure that would have at least convinced him to hear them out. Clearly this was going to be much harder than they had anticipated.

"Fine then," Gurdurr stated quietly. "Let's do this!"

Light and Auron's eyes widened in surprise. They didn't want to fight! They could see that the Timburr wanted to intervene but a subtle look from Auron stopped them. This was their fight and they would see it through.

"I can't build houses anymore!" Gurdurr shouted as he paced from one side of the rocky expanse to the other. "Even if I wanted to build something, I ain't got the strength!" he raged but clutched his hands into fists. "But for some reason…I've got plenty of strength left for fighting! Good-for-nothing power that can't create a thing!"

Auron knew immediately that there was no dissuading Gurdurr from battling. There was no choice now: they had to fight.

"I'll show you what real rage looks like!" Gurdurr raged. "You'd better be ready!"

Auron let a low growl escape his mouth while Light let a few sparks loose in preparation for the oncoming battle.

* * *

Gurdurr had released a roar of rage as strength unlike anything he'd ever felt flowed through his veins. Empowered, Gurdurr stomped into the ground, causing an intense tremor.

Auron had found himself disoriented from the preemptive strike while Light had looked more than a little fatigued and the battle had only begun!

Changing tactics, Auron had somersaulted the oncoming rock tombs while Light had followed his lead with a quick attack.

Gurdurr had made to throw rocks at them but Auron had managed to block his throwing arm with his tusks before sliding behind him and unleashing as powerful of a dragon rage as he could manage.

Light had immediately followed his lead by whipping him with her tail. Unfortunately, Gurdurr swatted her away before lunging at Auron.

The dragon type couldn't dodge as Gurdurr grabbed him by the neck and threw him into the ground so hard that it had caused a bounce back! Light had watched, frozen as Gurdurr jumped up after him and slammed in back into the ground with his I-beam.

Light had quick attacked over to Auron and picked him up, throwing him onto her back for quick attacking away from Gurdurr's rock throws.

The female electric type could tell that that last attack had done quite a number but handed him an Oran berry while eating one herself.

They had managed to eat the health restoring berry fast enough to dodge Gurdurr's oncoming low kick.

Auron had proceeded to somersault Gurdurr's rock throws while Light took advantage of Gurdurr's distraction to keep shocking him with her thundershocks while regretting all the while that she didn't know any more powerful moves.

Auron had gotten lucky when he managed to block Gurdurr's oncoming I-beam and immediately seized his chance, jumping onto the I-beam before scratching at his face several times before landing from Gurdurr's shoulder and shooting him in the back with a dragon rage. He couldn't help but wince at being able to see Gurdurr's scar so clearly.

Gurdurr flew back and Light was there to meet him with a relentless chain of thundershocks that had appeared to do at least some damage to the fighting type.

Alas, it was not to be as Gurdurr slammed a fist into the ground and grabbed Light by the neck much like what he had done to Auron.

Auron rushed over to Gurdurr, a dragon rage ready as he threw Light into the rocky face. He had barely turned to continue his onslaught when he received a face full of blue flames.

Auron picked up his fatigued partner who had struggled to her feet. Auron kept supporting her as they continued to dodge Gurdurr's onslaught of rock throws. To Auron it had seemed that Gurdurr's rock had just kept getting bigger and bigger.

Auron quickly questioned the stupidity of what he was about to do before glancing at his beaten up partner and mourned their lack of any healing items. Talk about poor planning…

Auron had dodged Gurdurr latest onslaught when he saw Gurdurr with boulder that was surely larger than the fighting type holding it. His eyes had practically popped out of his head as he realized that there was no way he was going to get both of them out of this intact.

With that thought, he'd immediately spun around, knocking Light out of the way as he spun around once more to face the rock head on.

Light had managed to regain her footing when she saw the rock impact Auron who had then disappeared in a cloud of dust.

She had screamed in rage and had gone after Gurdurr with gusto. She had poured her heart into each electric attack while easily dodging all of the fighting type's own attacks. She had even bitten his leg when he had tried to kick her away. That had led to her getting a height advantage which she ruthlessly exploited, as she unleashed the most powerful electric attack that she could muster.

Neither of them noticed a figure appear from the dust cloud and both stared in shock as a dragon rage slammed into Gurdurr's face for the second time in that fight.

"Auron!" exclaimed Light gleefully as she dashed over to her partner's side. She had noticed that his tusks were missing and a closer inspection revealed that he was holding them tightly in his small claws. She couldn't help but stare at the now tuskless Auron while Gurdurr stared at the dragon type in shock. He couldn't help the humorless laugh the escaped his throat as he jumped higher than he could have ever dreamed possible.

The duo stared on warily while Auron gestured for Light to get behind him. He'd then held his tusks in what he thought was a defensive maneuver and watched as Gurdurr flew at them, rage infused energy powering his blows.

Much to everyone's surprise, Auron's tusks managed to _block _the blow! Admittedly it required a great deal of effort and Auron was struggling, even with Light backing him up. He could feel the tusks shake with the strain. In the end, the young duo had managed to deflect Gurdurr's attack at the cost of a great deal of their energy.

"We have to wrap this up quickly!" Auron told Light, his breathing ragged. Light nodded vigorously in agreement. They'd be down and out if Gurdurr got a chance to unleash another powerful attack like that!

Auron had tossed Light one of his tusks before seizing his opportunity and heaved the large I-beam out of Gurdurr's loose hand. He then proceeded to smash Gurdurr with it several times while somehow also gaining altitude before throwing it at him.

Unfortunately, while his strikes had managed to deal a fair bit of damage, throwing the I-beam had not been especially effective for the obvious reason that he missed. That's right, the I-beam was soon embedded deep into the earth not far from where Gurdurr had landed after Auron's strikes.

Light had quickly pursued Gurdurr with one of Auron's tusks in hand. She had to admit that it felt strange to battle while Auron's tusk but it had reminded her of how much Auron was putting it make this work. She had to play her part as well! She had proceeded to go to work, drawing Gurdurr's attention away from Auron.

Auron had soon recovered and dashed over to where Light and Gurdurr had been battling it before making to scratch away at Gurdurr's body in a hope to the ruthless fighting type down enough for Light to land a paralyzing electric attack.

Much to everyone's surprise, instead of just Auron's claws glowing in preparation for a scatch attack, both of his arms were glowing brightly as he blocked Gurdurr's oncoming low sweep from going for Light's stomach with one of his arms before counterattacking with the other.

Gurdurr had been sent reeling back at the direct hit while Light stared in shock. That was the move that Auron had inadvertently used during their last battle with Gurdurr and Scraggy!

Auron stared at his still-glowing arms in shock before taking advantage of the situation and dashed toward Gurdurr who had recovered from the surprise attack and knew that this last attack would decide the outcome of the battle…

**I would first like to take this moment to apologize for not updating this story sooner. There were several reasons for this; the first of which was real life. A lot's been going on in reality as future opportunities have decided to reveal themselves. Naturally I've begun taking steps to exploit such opportunities. Secondly, I had a hard time imagining how I might want this fight to turn out and as you can probably tell, I still haven't finished it. Finally, I had also wanted to consider potential combinations for future combinations that Auron, Light might learn in the future.**

**Oddly enough, I had been listening to music from Kingdom Hearts: RE CoM when I was writing the battle scene. In particularly, I highly recommend listening to Struggle Away and The Fight for My Friends. Both had helped me write the battle scene as I did.**

**Enough of my rambling, I just want to thank everyone for reading this monstrosity of a chapter and please leave a review so I can write better (and hopefully faster chapters). I'd like to say that updates will come a little bit quicker but I can't confirm that presently.**


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